…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – ‘IX’

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - 'IX'

Score

The cult band continue to rein in the prog excesses in favour of howling post-rock

On this belting ninth album, …Trail Of Dead’s resurgence continues, further reining in the prog excesses that diluted their ’00s efforts (‘Source Tags & Codes’, ‘Worlds Apart’). Themed around death and loss, ‘IX’ sees the Texans at their most focused and thrilling. Portentous song titles and elemental imagery abound as ‘The Doomsday Book’ ushers in an opening sequence whose howling guitar and thunderstorm drumming recalls the promise of the Austin band’s early days. Stretching into orchestrated post-rock territory, the grandiose second half finds Conrad Keely and Jason Reece forcing out personal exorcisms (‘Lost In The Grand Scheme’, ‘Sound Of The Silk’) as the band play out of their skins.